1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to toothbrushes used by orthodontic patients having braces, specifically to a toothbrush with a head having at least one pair of longitudinally extending twisted wire brushes secured thereto, sometimes called proxy brushes, which are positioned so as to provide a very narrow but uniform trench between brush bristles along a substantial portion of the head. The trench permits brush bristles to reach farther behind the orthodontic wire for removal of food and plaque from tooth surfaces, than otherwise could be accomplished with any known prior art device. One or two pairs of twisted wire brushes are preferred, but the number used is not critical. Also, conical brushes are preferred over substantially cylindrical brushes, although either can be used. The most preferred embodiment of the present invention would provide two pairs of conical brushes, with the wider end of each conical brush adjacent to the others in the middle portion of the toothbrush head so that the longer brush bristles in the middle of the toothbrush head are able to effectively reach behind an orthodontic wire for tooth cleaning and the shorter brush bristles near the distal end of the toothbrush head remain compact for reaching into the limited space between cheek and gums around back teeth and being withdrawn without damage to the orthodontic appliances and/or injury to the person wearing them. The toothbrush head may employ a solid, blunt, curved, tapering, and/or forked end construction for support of the pair or multiple pairs of twisted wire brushes that form the narrow trench for orthodontic wire passage. The trench is useful when placed into a horizontally-extending orientation around the horizontally-extending orthodontic wire of the braces connected between the complementary hardware wrapped around each tooth, whereby brush bristles adjacent to the trench are able to move behind the orthodontic wires, without damaging them, and clean surfaces of the teeth typically inaccessible by other types of orthodontic cleaning devices. When conical brushes are used, the twisted wires of the present invention are not parallel, nor are the twisted wires positioned at a uniform spaced-apart distance from the toothbrush head. Instead, to create the substantially uniform trench needed between adjacent bristles, the twisted wires of the conical brushes are angled laterally relative to the head surface so that the twisted wires at the narrow end of the conical configuration are more closely positioned together. Also, the twisted wires at the narrow end of the conical configuration angle toward the head surface to give it a more compact structure so that the distal end of the present invention head with its attached brushes can be easily manipulated between the user's cheek and back teeth for effective tooth cleaning behind the orthodontic wires, and thereafter be easily withdrawn from the user's mouth without damage to the orthodontic hardware attached to the teeth or the orthodontic wires connected between them. The brush bristles positioned directly between the twisted wires and adjacent to the trench, are positioned very close to one another or set into a slightly overlapping configuration. In some embodiments of the present invention, it is contemplated for the handle attached to the toothbrush head to be laterally angled to allow a user to hold it like a pencil and more conveniently align the orthodontic wires with the trench, as well as allow the user to clean teeth with his or her supporting hand and arm in a lowered and less awkward position that prevents premature fatigue. Also, some embodiments of the present invention may optionally have easily replaced brush bristles, be considered disposable as an entire unit when bristles wear out and no longer provide effective tooth cleaning, after a limited number of uses, or be electric to provide counter-rotating bristles that pull food out of orthodontic appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
When brace hardware and orthodontic wires are connected to teeth, food easily collects on exposed and hidden tooth surfaces in and around the tooth hardware and behind the orthodontic wires, and is difficult to remove. If not frequently cleaned, plaque will form and lead to tooth decay. However, the aggressive tooth cleaning sometimes required to remove plaque from exposed and hidden tooth surfaces behind orthodontic wires and complementary tooth hardware, particularly when working around back teeth, is likely to break the orthodontic wires. Also, molars and other back teeth, which are even difficult to clean when no brace hardware and orthodontic wires are present, are even more difficult to clean when the limited space between cheek and gums is occupied in part by orthodontic wires and complementary tooth hardware. Further, much orthodontic work is performed on teens and pre-teens, and many of them have small mouths, making it even more difficult to insert an effective cleaning device between the cheek and gums that is able to clean plaque from tooth surfaces without damaging orthodontic wires. While most prior art tooth cleaning devices, including water irrigation devices and twisted wire brushes used individually, are able to remove a significant amount of food from the brace hardware and orthodontic wires, most are unable to effectively remove plaque from tooth surfaces located behind the orthodontic wires and complementary brace hardware, and/or are too wide or thick in dimension to effectively operate in the limited space between cheek and gum to remove plaque from the crowded back teeth of teens and pre-teens.
The invention thought to be most closely related to the present invention is the toothbrush disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,708 to Luposello (1996). However, significant differences exist between the Luposello invention and the present invention. The Luposello invention discloses a toothbrush and orthodontic appliance cleaning device having a cleaning head with upstanding standard toothbrush bristles extending perpendicularly from the head. In addition, two elongated twisted wire brush members are supported upon the standard bristles in a parallel orientation to the head. The Luposello invention identifies use in cleaning braces, teeth, and gingival surfaces. However, the mouths of teen and pre-teen dental patients are small, and the distal end of the Luposello invention head, with its upstanding bristles and superimposed twisted wires brushes, would be too thick to reach in and around back teeth to effectively clean plaque from the back teeth without risk of damage to orthodontic wires. Further, the gap shown between the Luposello elongated brush bristles is much larger than the nearly overlapping, or slightly overlapping, bristles adjacent to the present invention trench. Also, FIG. 7 in the Luposello disclosure shows the large Luposello gap being used in a vertical orientation relative to a tooth, to clean around the width of the brace hardware attached to the tooth. However, its large gap would prevent it from being as effective as the present invention for removing plaque from the entire tooth surface behind orthodontic wires and tooth brackets. In contrast, the present invention is contemplated for tooth cleaning when its trench is in a substantially horizontally-extending orientation, with an orthodontic wire passing through the trench and not perpendicular to it, which allows the nearly overlapping or slightly overlapping twisted wire brush bristles of the present invention to interact with one another, and as a result of the combined brush activity provided, effectively clean all tooth surfaces behind an orthodontic wire and its attached tooth brackets. Further, if the Luposello invention would be used with its gap in a horizontally-extending position, its elongated brush bristles are much too far apart to reach fully behind the orthodontic wires connected between the brace hardware attached to each tooth, and the standard upstanding toothbrush bristles beneath the Luposello will collapse when placed in contact with the orthodontic wire and not be able to reach around it to effectively remove plaque from all tooth surfaces behind the orthodontic wire. In addition, even though the Luposello invention discloses the use of conical elongated brushes, the twisted wires in all embodiments of the Luposello invention remain parallel to one another (see FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 8), so that the gap/trench between them is even wider at the narrow end of a conical brush, which would make the Luposello invention even less effective in cleaning plaque from tooth surfaces behind orthodontic wires and tooth hardware. Also, as shown in FIG. 2 of the Luposello disclosure, its elongated twisted wire brushes are raised above the surface of the upstanding standard toothbrush bristles where they provide a thick profile and are likely to become entangled with orthodontic wires or brace members when used to clean crowded back teeth. Such entanglement may either cause the orthodontic wires to bend or break, cause out-of-position movement for one or more of the elongated twisted wire brushes, cause movement of one or more of the elongated twisted wire brushes away from the toothbrush head, or some combination thereof. Exposed wires and fragments from repositioned twisted wire brushes, broken orthodontic wires, and/or damaged brace hardware, not only places the inside check surface of the person wearing the braces at risk for injury, it risks further damage to the orthodontic appliances. The present invention tooth cleaning device always maintains a narrow trench of uniform dimension between the bristles of all elongated brushes secured to its head, with adjacent bristle ends overlapping or nearly overlapping one another, so that when the trench is in a horizontally-extending position and an orthodontic wire moves through the trench, adjacent bristles reach behind the orthodontic wire to effectively clean plaque from all tooth surfaces behind the orthodontic wire and adjacent brace hardware attached to the teeth. The twisted wires in the conical brushes of the present invention are not always oriented parallel to the head, as is shown in Luposello FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. Instead, the present invention teaches angled brushes that are also able to effectively clean crowded back teeth, particularly in the small mouths of teens and pre-teens. Further, the Luposello invention does not disclose a laterally angled head for facilitated horizontal positioning of its trench during tooth cleaning use, nor does the Luposello invention teach the use of replaceable elongated brushes. No other system and method is known that functions in the same manner or provides all of the advantages of the present invention.